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KLM High Five Magic.

It used to be that when you wanted to promote your product or service, you hired an ad agency and they would roll out the tried and true classics. You’d have a traditional print campaign, TV spots, radio, direct mail etc. Then technology stepped in and began to whittle away at these channels. The DVR killed TV ads for the most part. Twenty years after the birth of internet advertising, most people ignore them. There is a backlash against in your face advertising on social networks. The fragmentation continues, and with it, agencies are having to get smarter with what they do.

KLM Airlines is a brand that gets technology and the digital space. Over the last few years they have run a number of successful campaigns with deep hooks, or an exclusive digital presence. There latest effort which launched last week connected people from New York and Amsterdam with an offer to win free airline tickets by completing a virtual high five.

Created by Eigen Fabrikaat (DDB Group) and Minivegas the interactive installation was live for one day and offered participants from both sides of the ocean a chance to interact and help each other win. I didn’t see any connection to KLM’s social media hubs which kind of surprised me since they have such a strong presence, but it might be that I just missed it since this happened a week ago. None the less, it’s a clever idea, and one that shows how pushing the boundaries can create some really clever advertising solutions.